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Can you believe we still have new shows to share with you? As your go-to for British television in the Washington, DC area, we hope to deliver a wide variety of programming on WETA UK and that means trying new programs while also keeping your beloveds running. This week on WETA UK, you’ll be thrilled by our newest British detective Inspector George Gently, while we continue to share WETA UK favorites like DCI Banks. Adding to the excitement, new seasons begin for comedies Keeping Up Appearances,Outnumbered, and Blackadder. Read on for more information about these and other shows that we want to highlight in this week’s WETA UK schedule!

Monday at 10:00pm don’t miss the WETA UKInspector George Gently premiere! Inspector George Gently is an incorruptible, uncompromising cop transplanted from London’s Scotland Yard to England’s North Country in the mid-1960s. Gently’s reputation for honesty and relentlessness makes him almost as feared among his colleagues as he is among criminals. But he finds an odd ally in John Bacchus, an overeager, opinionated young sergeant who plays fast and loose with police procedures. Together the two tackle cases involving murderers, drug dealers, gun runners, and more. Gently is about to discover a whole new world of murder and intrigue in 1960s Britain, a place where everything is about to change, but the past is always present.

Wednesday at 8:00pm Inspector Morse begins to investigate a new mystery in Absolute Conviction, Part 1. Morse and Lewis investigate the affairs of three people in prison for fraud but when one of them is murdered, they are surprised by what they find. Once someone attempts to kill one of the two surviving fraudsters, the clock seems to speed up and the crime-solving duo must take actions fast.

Thursday at 7:30pm begin the roaring comedyKeeping Up Appearances from the very first episode. Hyacinth goes to incredible lengths in her quest for refinement. She insists that her name Bucket is pronounced bouquet. Her house is spick-and-span with everything in its proper place. Even the empty milk bottles sparkle on the doorstep after their obligatory rinse in the dishwasher. There is one very enormous drawback to Hyacinth’s pretensions. The rest of her family is as common as muck. They live together in a rundown house that looks like a junkyard. Sister Daisy and her husband Onslow are out-and-out slobs and her elderly father is a lecherous drunk. Whatever Hyacinth does, her family can always be guaranteed to show her up.

Friday at 9:30pm begin Outnumbered season 3, episode 1, a comedy series which captures the chaos of an ordinary British in a very unique way. The lives of Pete, Sue, and their three children are locked in an unequal battle. Using aspects of improvisation, this show sees the world as much from the children's point of view as that of the adults'.

Saturday at 8:00pm WETA UK Event: DCI Banks continues with Strange Affair and Dry Bones That Dream. In Strange Affair, DCI Alan Banks receives a disturbing message from his brother Roy and Banks drops everything to find him, just as new recruit DI Helen Morton finds evidence linking Banks to the body of a murder victim. In Dry Bones That Dream, DCI Alan Banks and DI Helen Morton must learn to reconcile their conflicting policing styles and personalities while trying to unravel the increasingly puzzling murder of a local accountant who has been leading a secret double life.

Sunday at 9:00pm kick off the fourth season of the classic comedyBlackadder entitled, Blackadder Goes Forth. A world-weary Captain Blackadder, veteran of numerous campaigns, suddenly finds himself in the trenches facing four million German machine guns. He is not a happy man. He’d be slightly happier if General Melchett's battle plans were less suicidal and if Private Baldrick's cooking wasn't confined to rat.

This week, WETA UK has lots of new shows for you to try out. We begin the newest season of PBS Downton Abbey season 3 from the very beginning; we premiere the brand new crime dramas Death in Paradise and Dalziel & Pasco; we kick off new seasons of New Tricks, Waiting for God, and Red Dwarf; and we start the new WETA UK Event: Return to Cranford. Read on for show descriptions and schedule.

Tuesday begin watching Downton Abbey season 3 from the very first episode! This dramatic season brings even more excitement and surprises than before. Tune in Tuesdays at 8:00pm beginning tonight for season 3 of Masterpiece Classic: Downton Abbey. Also airs Wednesday at 3:00pm.

Wednesday join us at 9:00pm for the WETA UK premiere of the new drama Death in Paradise. A light-hearted detective series which takes place against a stunning Caribbean island backdrop. Sent to the tiny island of Saint-Marie to solve a mysterious murder, quintessentially British cop Richard Poole is a total fish out of water. His new partner, DS Camille Bordey is instinctive, feisty and brilliant, and the rest of the team certainly has their own unique way of doing things. Though Richard would never admit it, they make the perfect team, and with a new mind-boggling mystery to solve every episode, Death in Paradise will intrigue and tantalize. Also airs Thursdays at 4:00pm & Saturdays at 6:00pm.

Wednesday at 10:00pm kick off season 1 of our new series Dalziel & Pasco. Andy Dalziel does not suffer fools gladly, but he has even more trouble with what he calls the "smart arses" of this world. So when the inexperienced, soft-spoken, whiz-kid graduate Peter Pascoe joins his team at Mid-Yorkshire CID, there could be problems. Pascoe is one of the new breed of career police officers, armed with a degree in Social Sciences, a caring attitude and a sharp brain. At first Pascoe is somewhat taken aback by his brash and ballsy boss, but it soon becomes apparent there is more to Andy Dalziel than meets the eye. Also airs Thursdays at 5:00pm & Saturdays at 7:00pm

Thursday at 11:00pm dive into season 6 of New Tricks. Detective Superintendent Sandra Pullman and her unconventional team of ex detectives – Jack Halford, Brian Lane and Gerry Standing – reinvestigate more unsolved murders and cold cases with their trademark conflict over procedure and rules.

Friday tune in for the first episode of season 5 of the comedy series Waiting for Godat 7:00pm. Bayview is a purpose-built complex with one chalet to each resident, looked after by the skinflint manager, Harvey Baines, his adoring half-witted helper, Jane, and nurse Jenny. Unfortunately, their ideas on how old people should behave are wildly at odds with some of the residents' – especially the ringleaders, Tom and Diana. Also airs Tuesday at 10:30am.

Saturday beginning at 8:00pm, watch the first two parts of WETA UK Event: Return to Cranford. Change is coming to the 1840s, small, close-knit village of Cranford run by the women of the town. The Industrial Revolution is upon them and change as well as romance is in the air. When a shocking event disrupts Cranford from its innocence, can a bit friendship save the day? Also airs Sundays at 12:00pm.

Sunday at 11:00pm season 5 of Red Dwarf begins! This season, Rimmer gets a hard-light drive enabling him to touch and feel, a dose of luck virus rescues Lister, Cat, and Kryten from an all-sprout diet in quarantine, the boys encounter their evil selves, and it seems that they are not really who they think they are at all, when their time on the virtual reality game Red Dwarf comes to an end.

WETA Television is your Washington, DC, Maryland, and Virginia PBS station for Masterpiece Classic: Downton Abbey. Whether you’re beginning with season 1, finishing up season 2, or eagerly awaiting season 3, WETA is the place to watch! Let’s face it, watching TV on your laptop can be a bit frustrating: low volume, small screen, buffering video. Set the computer aside, grab the remote control, and tune into WETA TV26, HD, and WETA UK for all three seasons of Downton Abbey.

Season 1 –WETA UK Tuesdays at 8:00pm

The bold and beautiful Downton Abbey estate runs smoothly from generations of excellent care, but change is coming. With enticing drama and terrible threat, the future of Downton's dynasty takes shape but is it possible to preserve? Follow the upstairs, downstairs dynamic in this beautiful period drama from PBS. Repeats Wednesdays at 3:00pm.

Watch free movies without commercials on your TV this Saturday. Get a load of our jam packed Fall Movie Festival November 10, a feature film and FOUR documentaries on WETA TV26 and WETA HD.

The Art of Risk-Taking

Jumping out of an airplane, sampling frog’s legs, or buying a lottery ticket all mean incurring some risk. A skydiver discovering mid-air that his parachute is defective may be a rare situation, but suffering a minor allergic reaction to an exotic food happens more often. In life, we’re faced with both itty-bitty risks and all-or-nothing risks. This Saturday night, don’t do anything dicey. Stay in the comfort and safety of your own home and live vicariously through risk taker after risk taker in a line-up of movies on WETA TV26 and HD that make you hold your breath—without taking any real risks.

Love’s Risk

You never know who you’ll meet on the bus. Fate strikes when two bus riders’ lives coincidentally intertwine, proving that every personal encounter has a purpose. When the recently returned World War II veteran Paul strikes up a conversation with Victoria, he learns that she is pregnant out of wedlock and terrified that her traditionalist Mexican father will kill her upon her homecoming from graduate school. So Paul offers to play the role of Victoria’s husband and Victoria accepts. Victoria’s family believes the couple’s announcement but the new son-in-law’s social standing infuriates Victoria’s father. The initial plan takes an unexpected turn when the family invites Paul to stay on the vineyard and assist with the annual grape harvest. The events that follow will convince you of the magic of fate. With family tradition, love, and hate all conflicting, you have the perfect elements to start off a Saturday night movie festival!

Watch A Walk in the Clouds (1995) Saturday November 10 at 9:30pm on WETA TV26 or WETA HD.

Risk for Reward

Though the classroom’s filled with women from a colorful assortment of countries, their similarities outweigh their differences. Many stopped attending school at age ten, either because of the taboo of female education or because work took priority. All of the students have families back home, and all are mothers or grandmothers--a class requirement. Most of the students have never before left their village, let alone their country. Many are also illiterate. These 27 disenfranchised women hail from four continents and make up a class of competitively selected candidates whose training at The Barefoot College in India will empower them to become solar engineers. Yes, solar engineers. In six months time, these women will return home with the ability, confidence, and skill to bring solar electricity to their villages. Learn more about the making of Solar Mamas from producer Mette Heide in this Independent Lens online exclusive!

The prospect of $20,000 and college tuition assistance in exchange for serving in the Michigan National Guard just one weekend a month seemed too good to pass up for a group of nine long-time friends who were fresh out of high school in rural Michigan. And it was…as most things that seem too good to be true usually are. Soon, they would all be deployed on a tour to Afghanistan, where they would search for roadside bombs with their explosives unit. After nine fearfull and uncertain months, nothing could prepare the once carefree “boys” for the obstacles they would endure upon returning home.

Where Soldiers Come From follows the lives of three of these men over the course of four years, from their basic training, to their deployment, and ultimately, to their tumultuous return home. The film illustrates the transformation of these happy-go-lucky teenagers into hardened and emotionally-scarred men. The film also paints a poignant portrait of the far-reaching effects of a far-away war, while touching upon politics, class, and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. Check out this powerful map of Veterans in the United States from POV Where Soldiers Come From.

Watch POV: Where Soldiers Come From Saturday, November 10 at 12:30am on WETA TV26 or WETA HD.

Risk on the Behalf of Others

On-call at all hours of the day and night, they rush to their “office” when the familiar phone call comes. A price could never be put on the free and generous service they provide with their smiles, hugs, and words of encouragement for men and women in uniform. At Bangor International Airport in Maine, a pack of senior citizens has made history by greeting and seeing off nearly one million American troops who are on their way to and from Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Way We Get By tells a moving story about growing old, finding purpose, and living life to the fullest. The film looks at three of the senior volunteers, as they deal with the inevitable effects of aging and find their reason to continue living. One volunteer must cope with a cancer diagnosis, while another must cope with the deployments of beloved family members. Meanwhile, one volunteer explains the group’s goal very succinctly: “Make a soldier smile before he goes over.” The parallels between the gray-haired volunteers and soldiers passing through the plane terminal reveal the film’s central message: It is through service to others we find our purpose. Watch or read this POV interview with The Way We Get By filmmaker Aron Gaudet.

Watch POV: The Way We Get By on Saturday, November 10 at 2:00am on WETA TV26 or WETA HD.

Risking it all for a Dream

“We miss the shot, we get shot.”

For wildly successful filmmakers László Kovács and Vilmos Zsigmond, such a statement was not far from the truth in their native Hungary. Maybe it was luck and their innate talent that led to their success in the film industry, or maybe it was the day-to-day struggle of surviving in Hungary’s hostile environment that taught them to fight. Whatever the case, that success certainly did not mushroom overnight. No Subtitles Necessary: Laszlo & Vilmos honors the pair, all the while telling their story from struggle to triumph.

László and Vilmos quickly became friends back in film school, but little did they know that their friendship would thrive for decades to come and withstand as much as it did. During the Hungarian Revolution, the two fled for America, camera and film in tow. Remarkably, they managed to avoid ever getting caught and filmed many of the horrific scenes involved in their escape. Finding work was no easy feat, and for ten years they admirably kept their dreams alive by working on low-budget films. Their “big breaks” came in due time, and once Hollywood recognized their talent as Directors of Photography, America swooned. Thanks to their grit and persistence, László and Vilmos have changed Hollywood’s standards for cinematography. Check out this No Subtitles Necessary: Laszlo & Vilmos behind the scenes content from Independent Lens and director / producer James Chressanthis!